England captain Alastair Cook has hinted that Boyd Rankin will be handed his debut in tomorrow's second one-day international against New Zealand.
The 28-year-old was called into the squad as cover for Stuart Broad and Steven Finn, who were ruled out with injury before Friday's defeat at Lord's.
James Harris and Stuart Meaker of Glamorgan and Surrey respectively were also believed to be in contention for a call-up, but Cook said that he and Andy Flower opted for Rankin, whose 6'7" frame makes him a like-for-like replacement.
"James Harris did well when he came into the squad, and impressed everyone, but you'd have five bowlers of pretty much the same height and very similar skills," Cook told Sky Sports News.
"When you've got five bowlers, you want as much variety as you can in there. So when you lose two tall bowlers, you want to try to replace them with another tall bowler if you can."
Tomorrow's match takes place at the Ageas Bowl.
Michael Penkman
